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Lower Branch (chapter 3, Setsuna storyline)
The lower branch of chapter 3 is split into two variants. For ease of reference, they will be referred to by their colors on the route map: green and orange. Plot Green variant Setsuna has overcome her issues at work, and the other employees praise her for how she is handling herself. Karen, Futaba, and Kazuha stop by the Radish to see Setsuna, and she discovers that they all like Makoto. When she runs into Makoto and Kokoro on the beach after her shift, she begins to understand just how popular he is. Kotonoha comes to pick up Kokoro, and she encounters Makoto for the first time. After telling Manami what she's been up to on the beach, Kokoro begins her plans to set Kotonoha up with Makoto. The next day, Makoto takes Itaru out for the day before she has to return home to their father's house. On the way, Makoto runs into Otome and Karen, who ask him to help with festival preparations. He says he can't because he has to take care of Itaru. Makoto and Itaru go to the Radish, where they talk about his relationship with Setsuna. Afterwards, he takes Itaru to a movie. Setsuna runs into Kokoro after work, who has been looking for Makoto to invite him to go to the festival with her and Kotonoha. She invites Setsuna to come, thinking that Makoto would be more likely to accept the invitation if Setsuna were going as well. Kokoro spills her plans for Kotonoha and Makoto to Setsuna, and that she will have to try to find Makoto tomorrow to invite him since he didn't show up at the beach today. Makoto takes Itaru to the train station to go home, but she runs into Kotonoha as she's coming off the train, causing her to drop her bag of groceries. Kotonoha gives Itaru a parfait, and she and Makoto discover that they go to the same school. Eventually, Makoto rides the train with Itaru all the way to their father's house. Meanwhile, Kotonoha goes to pick up Kokoro at the beach, where she's hanging out with Setsuna. Kokoro tries to convince Kotonoha to go to the festival, and she agrees at Setsuna's insistence. Youko, Mai, and Manami leave for Paris. Kokoro sets up a meeting between Kotonoha and Makoto the day before the festival by having Kotonoha pick her up after tutoring at the beach. Meanwhile, Makoto, free of his obligations to watch Itaru, debates how to spend his free time. He ends up meeting Kokoro, who talks him into attending the festival with herself, Kotonoha, and Setsuna. Kotonoha runs into Setsuna as she's coming to get Kokoro. Kokoro asks Makoto what he thinks of Kotonoha while Setsuna watches the exchange from a distance. They make plans to meet up at the train station for the festival, and the Katsura sisters leave. Setsuna asks Makoto if he likes Kotonoha, and he tries to explain that he simply noticed her on the train before, nothing more. Makoto walks Setsuna to the train station, where they exchange phone numbers for the festival. He comments that he barely uses his phone, and that she should show him some phone tricks sometime. Just before boarding the train, she tells Makoto he should try typing 3-3-3-2-2 into his phone. She then boards the train in a panic. Makoto returns home and goes about his evening routine without trying the phone trick. When Setsuna gets home, she frets over whether he got the message, as she types 3-3-3-2-2 into her phone, which spells out "I like you." The next day, Kotonoha and Kokoro get their hair done and prepare for the festival. Setsuna works her shift at the Radish and spots the Katsura sisters in their yukata, prompting her to rush home after work to get hers. As a result, she's a bit late to meet up with Makoto, Kokoro, and Kotonoha at the train station. How the festival plays out depends on choices made, and the chapter will end with either I Hope You're Happy/Stubborn Makoto/Captivated by the Twins or 33322. Orange variant Setsuna has overcome her issues at work, and the other employees praise her for how she is handling herself. Karen, Futaba, and Kazuha stop by the Radish to see Setsuna, and she discovers that they all like Makoto. When she runs into Makoto and Kokoro on the beach after her shift, she begins to understand just how popular he is. Kotonoha comes to pick up Kokoro, and she encounters Makoto for the first time. Setsuna returns home, where Mai is busily preparing for the Paris trip. She asks if Youko was at the restaurant that day. Setsuna says that she was, but she seemed busy. Mai decides to call Youko, who is still at the Radish trying to finish a pile of last-minute paperwork for the business trip. Mai offers to help, which Youko refuses. Undeterred, Mai decides to go to the Radish and asks Setsuna to check on Sekai while she's gone. Before she leaves, however, Setsuna asks her to get out her yukata so she can attend the festival. Mai immediately clues in that Setsuna has a love interest that she's trying to impress. When Mai arrives at Radish, Youko continues to reject her aid, claiming that she simply didn't have time in the afternoon to finish all the paperwork. Mai pressed her for a reason why, and Youko happily ponders whether or not to tell her about Makoto. Setsuna stops by to check on Sekai and discovers that Youko already sent Ookuma Niki to check on her. Setsuna questions Niki's presence, and says that she'll catch the mumps if she stays. Niki brushes off the warning, claiming that she (and Setsuna) already had the mumps as children. During the exchange, Sekai is visibly nervous being caught between the two, as Setsuna clearly doesn't like Niki. Niki claims that she's just there to have fun, and Setsuna presses her for details. Sekai says they're just taking phone pictures. When Niki receives a text, Setsuna grabs her phone to see what kind of pictures they've been taking and discovers that Niki is showing Sekai how to sell topless photos to boys for money. Setsuna angrily breaks Niki's phone, warns her not to get Sekai involved in such activities, and demands that she leave. Niki does so, and Setsuna turns her ire on Sekai. Meanwhile, Makoto finds himself bored without Itaru around and decides to call someone to pass the time. On the phone, Makoto receives an invitation from Youko to visit the Radish, as she wants to show him off to Mai. When he arrives, Youko takes him out onto the patio and introduces them. She then goes back to her paperwork, leaving Mai to question him about his relationship with Youko. The plot for the remainder of the night can vary wildly; but if the story stays on the orange branch, then Makoto will seduce Mai and/or Manami and end up going home with one of them to have sex, or be driven away by one of them. Following this, the plot is identical to the green variant, picking up with Makoto meeting Kokoro, Kotonoha, and Setsuna on the beach and making festival plans immediately prior to Setsuna showing him the 33322 phone trick. How the day of the festival plays out depends on choices made, and the episode can potentially be any of the possibilities listed above except for I Hope You're Happy. Route Green variant This variant of the lower branch can follow either Part-time Job or Drowning in Secrets. If coming from Part-time Job, the green variant will be the route taken if the hidden Kokoro bar is high enough by the time Makoto takes Itaru back to her father's, otherwise you will get upper branch instead. If coming from Drowning in Secrets, testing suggests that accessing the green variant is based on having high affection towards Setsuna by the time Makoto takes Itaru home. Orange variant This variant of the lower branch can only be accessed following Drowning in Secrets, and is based on having sufficiently low affection towards Setsuna by the time Makoto takes Itaru home. Once traversing the orange variant, there are a few ways to leave it prematurely. Most of them deal primarily with the phone call Makoto places the night before Youko, Mai, and Manami leave for Paris. Once the path has left the orange variant, there is no way back to it. To see the orange variant in its entirety, Makoto must visit the Radish when invited, and then proceed to seduce at least Mai, if not Manami as well. These options will cause the story to leave the orange variant: * This option will veer the story onto the upper branch: ** Makoto decides to call Itaru, but then thinks that she's probably asleep given the hour. He then calls Yamagata, but she doesn't answer as she's busy with festival preparations. He goes to bed early and misses her return call, as well as Youko's. *** Note: this is the only way to access the upper branch directly from the lower branch. * These options will veer the story onto the green variant: ** Makoto spaces out and decides to just go to bed, missing Youko's call. ** Makoto decides to call Youko, but declines her invitation to visit the Radish. ** Makoto thinks about calling Youko, but refrains and decides to call Setsuna instead, only to realize that he doesn't have her number. He goes to bed early, missing Youko's call. ** Makoto decides to call Otome. During the call, he receives a call from Youko but declines to answer it. *** There are two different ways to call Otome. If Makoto can't decide whether to call Youko or Itaru initially, he'll consider calling Otome instead. Alternatively, if he thinks of calling Youko but refrains, he'll consider calling Otome as well. *** Note: the game appears to have some scene incongruities during the phone call with Otome. At one point the scene jumps to the Radish and shows Youko on the phone with Makoto, which is impossible as he's currently on the phone with Otome. In another path, Makoto gets tired and ends his call with Otome early, but when Youko calls, he is on the phone with Otome again as though he had never hung up. ** Makoto either calls Youko or receives a call from her and goes to visit her at the Radish. While there, he meets Mai and potentially Manami. *** Makoto attempts to seduce Mai but fails, and she sends him home. *** Makoto meets Manami, who admonishes him for fooling around with older women when he clearly likes Setsuna/even fools around Kokoro, and she either convinces him to stop seeing Youko and Mai, or scares him off. Category:Routes